The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

[jamiemcginlay]

The Free French Memorial stands at a fine viewpoint on Lyle Road, Greenock.


The memorial features the Cross of Lorraine and bears the incription:
This Monument
is dedicated to the memory
of the sailors of the Free French Naval Forces
who sailed from Greenock in the years 1940-45
and gave their lives in the Battle of the Atlantic
for the liberation of France
and the success of the Allied cause

This memorial
was designed and erected
by the officers and men
of the French Naval Base at Greenock
with the help of subscriptions
raised among the crews of
the Free French Naval Forces

The Free French base was established in 1941 with around 1,500 French military personel based in the town. The pedestal is made of hard Scottish stone to symbolise resistance. The Cross was cast of concrete in the base and proved a problem in getting it up the hill to the memorial until Greenock ship riggers lended their help and expertise. I understand that every July French children from Veulettes and Cany, towns near Dieppe hold a ceremony while visiting on an exchange scheme.

[graeme.ruxton]

Some further photos

[Adam Brown]

This is a memorial I hope to visit one day.

It's been a long time since I used my schoolboy French but I think this is a passable attempt at a translation of one of the tablets

To the memory of the sailors
of the Free French Naval Forces
Who never stopped fighting
And who fell gloriously
For the liberation of France
In Honour and victory

It looks like the other two are in memory of the Captain, officers and men of the corvettes "Alysee" and "Mimosa" and the submarine "Surcouf".


Thanks

Adam

[Adam Brown]

Mrs Margaret Newman sent us this e-mail

"I visited the Free French Memorial at Greenock recently. My friend noticed small 'pinholes' in the incisions of the engraved letters.Were there originally brass letters in the letter incisions and were these stolen? We'd really like to know!"

Can anyone help. If you look at the photographs you can see the holes. Perhaps they did hold metal lettering, maybe iron rather than brass, but maybe that is just the style they used to make the lettering stand out?

I'd be as interested as Mrs Newman and her friend in finding out.

Adam

[apanderson]

I think the letters might have been made of lead.

I once asked a monumental mason (who I interrupted at his work) and he explained that the 'missing' letters on gravestones similar to this, were made of lead with wee plugs attached which then fitted into the holes.

Lead being quite soft, eventually re-moulded itself and simply just fell off.

Anne

[David McNay]

Footage of the unveiling:

http://youtu.be/kQbH8Fmuhbc

[stuartn]

This is WMR report 54886